Updates From the College of Charleston's Business Affairs

The Division of Business Affairs comprises various offices, departments and services supporting the campus community, including:

• Office of Human Resources 
• Campus Services: Campus Housing, Charleston Culinary Group, parking and transportation, vending, Cougar Cards, the George Street Box Office, the Sottile Theatre, Campus Services HQ and insurance and lease management
• Procurement and contracting: warehouse and inventory management 
• Fiscal services: accounts receivable/accounts payable, controller/accounting, Office of Budgeting and Payroll Services and the Treasurer’s Office 
• Facilities Management: capital project management and space management 
• Public Safety/Fire and EMS 

The dedicated staff in these departments have been busy making 2024–25 another successful academic year and will continue to do so – even in the midst of a temporary move for some offices: Business affairs, accounts payable and the Office of Budgeting and Payroll Services will move to new locations the week of Nov. 4, 2024, while CofC at WestEdge (176 Lockwood Dr.) undergoes maintenance. Business affairs will be on the first floor of Randolph Hall and accounts payable will be on the second floor of 207 Calhoun Street. The project is expected to take approximately six months. 

Below are some more updates from a few of the units making up the business affairs team. 

Human Resources 

Employee Experience and Success: This year, the Employee Experience and Success team hosted impactful workshops, such as High-Stakes Communication and Maximizing Success: Navigating Professional Expectations in Higher Education, helping teams build skills and improve collaboration. Recently, they introduced Patrick Lencioni’s framework, The Six Types of Working Genius, to several departments, including the School of Business leadership team. 

Building on this focus on growth and development, participation in the Employee Tuition Assistance Program reached an all-time high in the 2023-24 academic year, with 70 participants completing over 90 courses.  

This commitment to development directly supports our culture of recognition. To date, nearly a third of College employees have been nominated for The Cistern Standard, with Student Centeredness being the most recognized core value. 

We’re also excited about what’s ahead, including the launch of Cougar Connections, a series of in-person onboarding events for new staff. This program will enhance our new staff’s onboarding experience by creating a forum for staff to network and build community with each other, ask pressing questions they may have for HR and receive information. As part of this program, we launched a survey instrument for new staff that will help inform resources and training.  

More great sessions focusing on building effective teams are being developed and will be available for department leaders in the spring.

Check the monthly Employee Experience and Success e-newsletter for updates and helpful resources, and reach out if you are interested in scheduling a workshop or learning about our training opportunities.

Office of Equal Opportunity Programs: The office is excited to welcome Margaret Nyland as its assistant director.  

This year, when new Title IX regulations went into effect, EOP drafted a new Title IX policy and an updated pregnancy, parenting and lactation policy. In August, when a federal appeals court issued an injunction that blocked the new regulations from taking effect in South Carolina (and other states), EOP reinstated its prior Title IX policy. EOP will continue to update policies and procedures in response to the changing regulatory landscape. 

This past spring, EOP received a grant from the South Carolina Institute on the Prevention of Sexual Violence on College Campuses and partnered with students to develop a training video presenting a realistic scenario of a possible sexual assault from two points of view. Students served in various roles: actors, scriptwriters, videographers, directors and editors. The video addressed issues such as alcohol use, incapacitation, lack of communication, consent and coercion. EOP also developed a discussion guide for the material presented in the video. EOP is reviewing additional topics for future educational video projects that reflect student voices in their content and presentation. It is also considering a proposal allowing students working on the projects to receive academic credit for their work.  

This fall, EOP has been conducting training presentations on discrimination, sexual misconduct and reporting obligations for faculty and staff, including student-athletes and residence life.  

As a reminder, private lactation spaces on campus are in the Robert Scott Small Building, Room 136, and the Addlestone Library, Room 204. Additionally, employees are reminded that reasonable accommodations due to pregnancy, childbirth or other related medication conditions and disability are available. Please contact HR should you need assistance. 

HR Leadership: We are excited to launch the President’s Leadership Institute. The PLI initiative is dedicated to developing leaders, building connections and encouraging innovation. The PLI will cover essential topics and trends in higher education, along with facilitating networking opportunities and collaborative experiences. Please join us in congratulating the following participants from the Division of Business Affairs who were selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the PLI: Leya Nelson, director and Title IX coordinator, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs; Rashad Towns, deputy director of facilities operations; and Lamar Williams, special services captain with the Department of Public Safety.   

RELATED: Check out all the latest from the Department of Public Safety.

The Office of Human Resources continued its series of HR on the Road visits which included meetings with the leadership teams in the Division of Student Affairs, Facilities Management, Information Technology, Campus Services and the Division of Athletics. These discussions centered around the support that HR can provide to employees and managers, along with soliciting valuable feedback from managers about what they and their teams need or would like to see more of from the HR perspective. Additional HR on the Road visits will be scheduled throughout this academic year.  

The office continues working to help implement new programs and enhancements in support of Pillar III. For instance, it worked with campus partners to contribute to the launch of the Campus Climate Survey, which is open through Nov. 15, 2024.

The team has created additional resources to recruit staff, including training on preventing bias in hiring and recruiting, which all staff search committee members should complete.

Employment Services: The employment team remains committed to expanding efforts to attract a diverse talent pool. Recently, it partnered with local universities and the Department of Employment and Workforce to host a successful career fair. In addition, all College jobs are posted on Circa (formerly Diversityjobs.com) to broaden their outreach. The team continually strives to enhance the onboarding process for new employees and have successfully introduced online onboarding for new faculty, making their experience more streamlined and efficient.  

Benefits: With the retirement of the College’s former associate director of benefits, Sandy Butler, HR is pleased to welcome Kisha Galloway, the new director of employee benefits and wellness programs. Galloway brings a wealth of PEBA benefits knowledge and experience to the team, along with a genuine desire to help support our College of Charleston colleagues with their benefits needs. She has begun putting together some great benefit and wellness programming for this year: 

• Vaccination Clinic: A flu and COVID vaccination clinic will be held at the Addlestone Library on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. 
• ORP Vendor Visits: The College is working diligently to have its ORP vendors visit campus on a rotating schedule, giving ORP members valuable insights and resources regarding their retirement options. Keep an eye out for announcements on specific dates and times. 
• PEBA On-Site Visit: George Hazin with PEBA will visit campus on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, to assist employees enrolled in the SCRS retirement plan. Location and appointments will be announced soon. 
• Wellness Seminars with MUSC: The College is finalizing plans to host wellness seminars in collaboration with MUSC later this year. These sessions will focus on various aspects of health and well-being. 

• MUSC Mobile Mammography Clinic: The College will host a MUSC mobile mammography clinic Jan. 28 and 29, 2025. This service offers a convenient way to prioritize employees’ health. Additional details regarding this event will be sent out shortly. 

The Office of Human Resources appreciates employees’ continued engagement in its benefits programs and looks forward to supporting their health and wellness needs moving forward.

Operations: The HR Operations team has led multiple initiatives over the last year, including digitizing many of our compensation and employment forms and approval processes via DocuSign and implementing an online onboarding module for new faculty. The team will continue to implement improvements and provide quality customer service.

Campus Services 

Campus Services includes seven offices, from Campus Housing to the Sottile Theatre, all dedicated to enhancing the College of Charleston experience.

Campus Services HQ is one of those offices. Located at 162 Calhoun St., Campus Services HQ is your one-stop shop for information about the Cougar Card, meal plans and dining, Campus Housing, vending and campus parking and transportation. The HQ team can also help with other Campus Services programs, including the College of Charleston Bookstore, the George Street Box Office, The Office of Mail Services and the Sottile Theatre. 

College of Charleston Bookstore: Don’t forget that employees get a 10% discount using their Cougar Card for personal purchases and a 20% discount for departmental purchases (use an IDT or P-card) at the College of Charleston Bookstore! 

Dining: The Charleston Culinary Group has been piloting lunch service with Clyde’s Snack Shack throughout October in response to requests for another affordable spot to eat following recent closures along King Street. If you haven’t already, take a look (and grab a bite!) at the Starbucks in the Addlestone Library and at the Liberty Street Food Hall, which both got a significant summer refresh. Also, check out Verde on the Go for delicious salads and wraps in The Market (behind Liberty St. Food Hall). 

George Street Box Office: The GSBO continues to provide ticketing services for all non-athletic events on campus. You can find tickets for numerous wide-ranging events this fall, including variations of The Nutcracker, the Irish House Concert Series and many events in the beautifully renovated Simons Center. 

Mail Services: The Office of Mail Services hosted a passport fair in September to ensure students (and employees) know our full passport service options. They’ll be out again later in the semester to prepare students for their study abroad needs. The mail team also launched Received Digital, akin to USPS’s Informed Delivery, but for our student residents! Don’t forget that employees can ship or mail personal packages (think pesky returns) for multiple carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS) in the Office of Mail Services. 

RELATED: Get the latest updates from Facilities Management.

Campus Housing: Campus Housing and Facilities Management are working on two big residential projects this academic year: Buist Rivers Residence Hall is undergoing a complete renovation, and parts of Berry Residence Hall are under construction to update the lobby and first floor for the Honors College. 

Visit Campus Services HQ in person at 162 Calhoun St., email campusservices@cofc.edu, call 843.953.1100 or text 843.825.1323. You can also get answers through the maroon Campus Services assistant tab on any of our pages. 

Procurement and Contracting 

On average, the eight-member procurement staff processes 6,919 purchase orders worth $94.4M annually and oversees an average of $6.5M in purchasing card spend. 

Multiple PCard program changes have been made based on feedback.  

The recent completion of a lengthy audit by the state’s procurement auditors certifies the College to process higher-dollar solicitations in house:  

• Supplies and services increased from $500,000 to $1,000,000. 
• Information Technology from $200,000 to $500,000. 
• Construction from $100,000 to $200,000. 
• Construction change orders from $100,000 to $200,000. 
• Architect/engineer contracts from $15,000 to $75,000.  

Procurement, in tandem with the Controller’s Office, recently completed a virtual payables vendor campaign to enlist more vendors to accept payment via a virtual Bank of America card. This reduces paper invoices, provides a timely payment method and increases our rebate from Bank of America. The campaign yielded 18 new vendors with a total enrolled spend of $526,487. 

Fiscal Services and Budget 

Controller’s Office: The Controller’s Office saw some staffing changes during FY24 with the retirement of long-time employees Phyllis Singleton and Antonette Boswell: Bonnie Lui was promoted to accounts payable supervisor; deputy controller Josh Williams now has the additional responsibility of overseeing the accounts payable area; and the office welcomed Lamesha McKelvey as senior accounts payable analyst.

The College received an unmodified opinion for its fiscal year 2024 annual financial statement audit. The Government Finance Officers Association awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the College of Charleston for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year 2023. This certificate recognizes reports that are easily readable and efficiently organized, and that satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. The College has received this certificate for 31 consecutive years! The office believes the fiscal year 2024 ACFR continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement program requirements, and it is submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate. 

The Controller’s Office is working on the 2024 annual Single Audit of federal awards and the NCAA Agreed-Upon Procedures engagements. 

The office has opened 71 new grants (a 22% increase over 2023) and 16 sub-awards since Jan. 1, 2024. Calendar year 2023 saw 58 new grants opened, along with 20 sub-awards. Also in fiscal year 2024, the office processed: 

• 15,677 invoices, an increase of 6% over FY23;
• 7,895 student refund checks, an increase of 57% over FY23; and
• 1,745 manual journal entries, a decrease of 19% over FY23.

Treasurer’s Office: The College has again been deemed compliant with the Payment Card Industry rules for handling credit card payments. The goal is to prevent fraud and identity theft for all payment systems on campus. The new standards, introduced by the PCI Council last year, have been met without exception. The Treasurer’s Office and IT work diligently to ensure that no one needs to worry about using a credit card on campus. 

New this upcoming tax year, parents will no longer have to sign in to a third party’s website to obtain the tuition tax credit form (1098T). The Treasurer’s Office will now work with TouchNet, our web-based financial system, to offer access to 1098Ts through the eBill module. The form will be instantly available and printable from the website.